There are numerous ways for an artist to grow an audience, and one method that has worked out well for WordPlay T. Jay is using Facebook ads to direct people to his Spotify.
T. Jay started doing this a little over a year ago, in May 2019, and it is mainly for building a brand and an audience, not necessarily a return on investment.
“ROI is important, but not the most important,” he said. “Lebron James got 0 ROI until he made it to the league. He put in thousands of hours of effort at his expense on a belief that he’d make it. He is talented, but that talent was amplified by that work. Artists have to think the same way.”
To get results, T. Jay said a base investment is about $150 per month.
“I’ve seen a couple artists get lots of attention with just that budget,” he said. “If they continue, they will see a return. The aim is to set this system in place and then start making great records at the pace that you can make them. Release, and then believe one of them will become a hit.”
Growth-wise, T. Jay said artists should hope for somewhere between 1-5 percent each month.
“If you start getting into the negative for more 3 months, make adjustments,” he said.
T. Jay did this himself when his results began to slide backward. So, he made adjustments.
“My audience saw the ads much more frequently, and I was still targeting a very general audience,” T. Jay said. “That audience was 'People who Like Spotify and People who Like Hip Hop, and also, like these artists similar to me. I made it more specific by using Lookalike Audiences. Now, I target people who Look-like people who clicked and engaged with my ads and I show them ads on Landing Pages.”
Geography also plays a role, as artists can choose where they would like to target, domestically or internationally. T. Jay said when deciding this, there is not true right or wrong way, as long as the audience is growing.
“There is no right way to target,” he said. “In theory, the best way is to start local so you can get more shows then grow outward from there. The problem with that is we live in a global music community. A song that sucks here in the states may be great elsewhere.
“So, my opinion is you focus on growing your entire brand globally. Algorithms don’t care what language your audience speaks — it cares that you’re bringing people in and they are staying. Therefore, you have to use the internet’s design as a way to amplify your growth.”
Beyond Facebook there are many other ways for artists to boost their audiences.
“Always leverage the new features and tools that are out to make content,” T. Jay said. “Artists have to be content creators now. Post on social media, and use the platform’s new feature. A great example is Big Mucci, a line dance artist from Cleveland. He started using Tik Tok on the side of ads and he’s blowing up right now.”
When asked what the most important factor to growth is, T. Jay said the answer is simple.
“The music — hands down,” he said. “If it’s not good then people won’t care, but after that, you have to target the right people.”
If you think Facebook ads for Spotify is a good strategy for you, or at least worth a try, T. Jay has a new tutorial that breaks down everything you need to know to get started.
Lessons include:
1. The Setup
• Artisthub Link (Put http://Artisthub.co) on the screen
• Pixel Set Up
• Audience Set Up
• Artist-Genre Based Audience
• Custom Audience to Track Pixel
• Lookalike Audiences to Narrow Down
2. Campaign
• Campaign Type (Traffic)
• Ad Set
• Ad set setup
• Global
• Segmented Ad Sets
• Ad set up
3. After 1000 Clicks (Lookalike Audiences)
• 5% lookalikes
• 1% lookalikes
4. What to do if Spotify isn’t Growing
• Check your countries
• Check your ads (Are they good?)
• Check your placements
• Check Yourself
For the full tutorial, check out the video below!